Big Picture Science

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Big Picture Science is a one-hour radio show and podcast that connects ideas in surprising and humorous ways to illuminate the origins, the behavior, and the future of life—and  technology—on Earth.

What came before the Big Bang?  How does the brain work? Will our descendents be human or machine?  What’s the origin of humor?  We ponder these questions daily... and expound on them weekly.

But, wait!  There’s more!

Are you a doubting Thomas?  Good.  Join us as we separate science from pseudoscience—and facts from the phony—in Skeptic Check, our monthly episode devoted to critical thinking.

Whether it’s astrology, Bigfoot, or just the incessant onslaught of UFOs, we take it all on, wielding the skeptical scalpel of solid science.

It’s Skeptic Check... but don’t take our word for it!

 

 

 

Series

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334 Pieces

Big Picture Science is a weekly one-hour science magazine that connects ideas in surprising and humorous ways to illuminate the origins and evolution of life and technology on this planet… and beyond.


Pieces

Caption: Headed for Trouble, Credit: Seth Shostak
The stone heads on Easter Island are an enduring mystery: why were they built and why were they abandoned and destroyed? The old ideas about cultu...

Bought by WCAI / WNAN Cape & Islands, Mass., CHSR-FM 97.9, WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio] and more


  • Added: Jan 23, 2023
  • Length: 54:02
  • Purchases: 13
Caption: Testing Your Metal, Credit: Seth Shostak
Catalytic converters are disappearing. If you’ve had yours stolen, you know that rare earth metals are valuable. But these metals are in great dema...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, WVTF, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Jan 16, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Caption: Melting Down, Credit: Seth Shostak
Climate change isn’t waiting for us to act. We’ve missed several deadlines to mitigate the dangers of this existential threat, which suggests we pr...

Bought by WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KZUM, KAZU Seaside, Calif., KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio] and more


  • Added: Jan 09, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Caption: Coming to Our Animal Senses, Credit: Seth Shostak
Animals experience the world differently. There are insects that can see ultraviolet light, while some snakes can hunt in the dark thanks to their ...

Bought by WMUU-LP, CHSR-FM 97.9, WRGY, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KZUM and more


  • Added: Jan 02, 2023
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 13
Caption: Webb Feat, Credit: Seth Shostak
The James Webb Space Telescope has turned its golden eye on the cosmos. The largest, most sensitive telescope put in space since the Hubble Space T...

Bought by WLPR , CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, KZUM and more


  • Added: Dec 26, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 18
Caption: Skeptic Check: 5G, Credit: Seth Shostak
5G, the latest mobile network standard, is coming. As new cell towers sprout around the world, do we know enough to confidently claim that this new...

Bought by Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, KZUM, RadioStPete Florida, WMUU-LP and more


  • Added: Dec 19, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 15
Caption: Keeping Humans in the Loop, Credit: Seth Shostak
As our world becomes more challenging, can we maintain control of our own future? Threats arise not just from climate change or inventions such as...

Bought by WNED Buffalo, KTXK, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, KZUM, WRGY and more


  • Added: Dec 05, 2022
  • Length: 54:30
  • Purchases: 17
Caption: Is Life Inevitable?, Credit: Seth Shostak
A new theory about life’s origins updates Darwin’s warm little pond. Scientists say they’ve created the building blocks of biology in steaming hot...

Bought by CHSR-FM 97.9, KTXK, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, WHCP-LP Cambridge and more


  • Added: Nov 28, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 7
Caption: Vaccine Inequity, Credit: Seth Shostak
A radical plan could solve a historic global health inequity. Countries in the global south who waited for more than a year for ample supplies of C...

Bought by KZYX, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], KMUN, CHSR-FM 97.9, Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting and more


  • Added: Nov 21, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 17
Caption: Your Inner Tree, Credit: Seth Shostak
Declining biodiversity is a problem as fraught as climate change. Loss of habitat, monoculture crops, and the damming of waterways all lead to mass...

Bought by WMUU-LP, KTAL-LP [Las Cruces Community Radio], Cove Mountain Educational Broadcasting, WRGY, KMUN and more


  • Added: Nov 14, 2022
  • Length: 54:00
  • Purchases: 16